Accident victim a regular at the shop he was headed to when killed

Friday

Nov 30, 2012 at 1:00 PMNov 30, 2012 at 1:54 PM

By Elaine Thompson TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

Employees at the Dunkin' Donuts on Route 20 said Timothy J. Sullivan, the 48-year-old man hit and killed by a sport utility vehicle near Edgemere Mobile Home Park Thursday night, was a friendly man who crossed the busy highway with his dog to get to the coffee shop/convenience store twice a day.

Mark Macaruso, general manager at the Dunkin' Donuts, said he didn't know Mr. Sullivan's name or where he came from, but he would come to the store every day, sometimes twice a day to buy Red Raves cigarettes and aspirin. He would chain his Boston terrier, Daisy, to a pole outside the store before coming in.

Twenty-year-old Ashley Robinson of Grafton, a clerk at the store since February, was working Thursday night when a customer came in and told her about the accident. She cried yesterday when she learned the identity of the victim.

“When he came in he would always ask how I was doing and talk about Daisy, and I would pet her. He was really nice,” Ms. Robinson said as she wiped tears from her face. “I felt bad for him because he seemed like he was disabled. If nobody is going to take care of his dog, I'll take care of it. I like dogs.”

Police said Mr. Sullivan was struck by a 2010 Jeep Liberty driven by Joanne Breault of Jericho, Vt., as he crossed Route 20 (Hartford Turnpike) just before 6 p.m. The accident is under investigation by Officer Richard H. Fiske.

Mr. Sullivan and his 52-year-old brother, James, a severe diabetic, lived at No. 16 in the mobile home park.

Two of Mr. Sullivan's brothers, David of Millbury, and John of Dunbarton, N.H., who were at the mobile home earlier today, said Timothy was making a run to Dunkin Donuts to get aspirin and cigarettes for James. The terrier belongs to James, but Timothy always walked him, they said.

“When he didn't come back, James started getting suspicious. A neighbor came by, knocked on the door, and told him about the accident,” John said.

The brothers said James was taken to the home of their sister, Trish Craig of Millbury, where the family was gathering to make funeral arrangements. They were waiting to talk to police to find out more about the accident. There is a crosswalk near the mobile home park that runs across Route 20 between Blackstone Street and Flagg Road.

The brothers said they came from a family of nine siblings born in Worcester. Timothy graduated from Doherty High School in the early 1980s and then served in the Navy. He never married.

“He was a great kid, and he was a very good painter,” John said. “He had been painting most of his life. He picked it up while painting ships in the Navy.”

The brothers said Timothy loved fishing and golf.

“He followed all the New England sports. He was a diehard Boston sports fan,” said David Sullivan, who was wearing a Boston Red Sox cap.

Several neighbors at the mobile home park said this is not the first pedestrian accident in the area. The traffic is fast, and it's difficult to drive out of the park to get onto Route 20, they said.

James Costa said that shortly after he moved to the park seven years ago, a man named Jake was hit by a large truck.